DJ's Story, Pain, Speed and Adventue!
by DJ Paynter
Summary: DJ Macleod finds himself trapped in a battle against the Navy and pirates, he must choose sides and decide what he wants in life as those around him fall. With time running out, he must find his dream and furfill his promises, as well as make new friends.
1. A warrior's origin

I don't own One Piece, this is a prequel for an OC, for the continuing adventures, as well as the full story, check out Kilnorc's One Piece: Crew of the Axe and One Piece: Desert Storm! 

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True Speed! A brother's promise and a warriors beginning 

**4 years ago**

DJ sighed as he carried two buckets of water, connected by a pole on his back. "Man, this is such a drag." He sighed again. He was stuck on this small island, doing rudimentary chores, while other people were fighting, dying, having adventures. "Oh well, when Sirena gets old enough, maybe we'll have some adventures too." He sighed a third time as he approached the small village and his small house.

"Yo Sirena, you home?" he called for his little sister. She was now eleven and he had just turned fifteen a few weeks ago. Their parents had died about three years ago and left DJ to take care of her.

"I'm in here big brother!" she called from the kitchen. "You got the water?"

"Of course, say what do you need all this for anyway?" he asked, having no idea of what he was actually sent out to do.

"I'm making something for the pirates at the pub. These ones seem nice brother." She smiled broadly.

"You know I don't like you affiliating with pirates." DJ groaned. "What are you going to make with a bunch of water?" he raised an eyebrow to her.

"Wine, silly." She smirked and pulled out some grapes she had smashed while he was gone as well as some other ingredients.

"And since when do you know anything about making wine?" DJ eyed his sister scornfully.

"Poika told me the recipe, she knows all about that stuff since she owns the pub." Sirena giggled.

"How irresponsible, teaching someone who isn't even old enough to drink it how to make it." He sighed again, it seemed all he ever did was sigh.

"Oh shush and help me with this," she nodded to the mixture.

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"I swear, this kid back home, he sinks like a rock every time, and yet he still wants to come with us." DJ heard the Red-haired pirate leader laugh as he and Sirena entered the pub.

"Ah, good old anchor, sure do miss him after all these years." The first mate laughed as well.

"Excuse me sir," Sirena interjected politely. "My brother and I made this for you and your crew. We'd like you to take it as a gift from the town." She smiled brightly, and held up a few jugs of wine. Sirena just loved to give people random gifts. All the people in the small town had known her kindness at one time or another.

"Why thank you lass." The captain grinned and patted Sirena on the head. "We'd be more than grateful to do that.

After a few friendly drinks the whole room seemed even livelier than when they had entered. "Say, Mister," Sirena asked in-between stories and jokes. "Why did you guys come here?"

"Aye lass, me and me crew are looking for something, and we're not going to stop until we find it." He grinned.

"What are you looking for?" DJ looked up curiously from his glass, which of course along with Sirena's, only contained juice.

"A lot of things," the first mate answered, "Adventure, treasure, freedom."

"Aye, but mostly we're just chasing the dream." The captain spoke up and hiccuped softly, his cheeks now matching his hair.

"What dream?" Sirena and DJ asked in unison.

"The great dream, everyone needs one, especially now, they call this the age of dreams. No matter what you do, you can't lose sight of your dream." He grinned from ear to ear. "What's yours me bucko?" he gave a drunken nod to DJ.

"Me? I just wanna be off this rock, it's too small, I want to run, to have space, to be free." He sighed, he knew he couldn't do that, lest he put Sirena in danger.

"Aye, that sounds like a good start laddie, but you gotta have friends to get any dream to come true, a captain's nothing without his crew, and a man is nothing without his friends and his dream." The man fell over and passed out after giving that last bit of wisdom.

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"Well, I gotta admit, they were a little odd but you were right, they were nice." DJ smiled to his sister as they walked home.

"Yeah, remember what that guy said about dreams, and going after them at all costs?" Sirena asked excitedly.

"Yeah, why?" DJ raised an eyebrow in question.

"Well, I was thinking, how great a place would the world be if everyone followed their dreams, no matter what?" she smiled brightly.

"Meh, doesn't sound so great to me." He put his arms behind his head.

"I think it would be great, that's my dream, to see a world like that, everyone so determined for their dreams." Sirena laughed and ran the rest of the way home.

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A few days later, some black-sailed Navy ships docked on the small island. "Hmm? I wonder what they want." DJ wondered as he and Sirena went to where the large men disembarked.

"Listen up! This man is a very dangerous pirate and we've heard reports that he's been sighted in this area. Their leader unfurled a Wanted poster with the red-haired pirate captain, who apparently had a large bounty on his head

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Sirena shouted. "He's a very kind and wise man, he isn't dangerous! None of us will tell you where he went!" the crowd nodded behind her.

"Looks like we got a troublemaker boys." The leader smirked. "Break her." He nodded to the largest of the men as he stepped forward.

"Sirena!" DJ shouted as he stepped in front of her and attacked the man.

The man was far too fast for DJ despite his large size and stabbed a sword into his right shoulder before knocking him out.

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DJ came to when he felt a raindrop on his face, and another, and another. He groaned, "Feel like I've been hit by a Kung-Fu Jugon." He moaned. He suddenly realized where he was and what had happened.

"SIRENA!" he called out. Poika remained close-by, she was crying. "W-where's Sirena?" he asked the pub owner.

Poika moved aside to reveal the motionless body of Sirena, a few trickles of blood still escaping from her head and chest. "No… NO!" DJ suddenly burst into tears which mixed with the wet rain.

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault, she needed me to protect her and I wasn't strong enough." He sobbed.

"DJ, there's nothing you could have done, you can't fight the whole Navy." Poika gently put a hand on his shoulder. "She was a good person, she wouldn't tell them where he was till the very end." She sniffled.

DJ crawled over to his sister's body, and touched her gently, accidentally getting some of her blood on his hands.

"Maybe you're right, I don't know," he stood up and closed his eyes, touching his wounded shoulder to mix his blood with Sirena's on his hand. "Upon this blood, I vow, I will never fail to protect anyone who needs me ever again!" he shouted to the heavens. " I promise you! I will help find that world, where everyone goes after their dreams at all costs. This is my vow, my dream! Yours and mine!"

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**3 years ago**

DJ sighed as he grasped the sword he had picked up a random shop shortly after he had left his island on a small dingy. It had been almost a year now, he had been exploring and helping where he could. He had obtained a large amount of Beli as thank you gifts on his travels. "Heh, guess this is what they call a merchant town." He chuckled as he looked around and saw no domestic homes whatsoever, only shops as far as the eye could see.

He stopped at an interesting stand he seemed called to. The merchant smiled as he watched DJ curiously. "Ah, swordsman, you must be a wise one to stop at my shop. See anything you like?"

DJ looked carefully and saw a strange fruit lying on the table. He recognized it instantly. "Say, is this one of them Devil Fruits?" he pointed.

"And a keen eye as well. Yes, that is the Speed-Speed fruit, it grants the user incredible speed and power." The merchant pointed to the rather large price tag on the fruit, but one he could afford nonetheless.

"So this could make me stronger? It could help me protect those who are precious to me?" DJ asked again.

"Sure, whatever kid, you gonna buy it or not?" the merchant lost his patience.

"Here," he handed the man the money and grabbed the fruit. He knew that those who ate Devil Fruit lost the ability to swim, he was just fine with that, he was willing to give anything to get stronger. He eyed the fruit nervously. "Well, here goes nothing." He sighed and ate the fruit.

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**2 years ago**

DJ grinned as he ran over the vast expanse of land at sonic speed. He came across another town. "Wonder if anyone here needs my help." He laughed goofily.

Sure enough, as soon as he got into town he saw a woman being mugged in an alleyway by two large men. "EEK! Get away!" the woman shouted.

"Shut her up," the larger dark-haired man ordered.

"Hey, that ain't very nice." DJ appeared behind the second man.

"Huh? Where'd you come from punk?" the man swung at him but before he could complete the swing, DJ was on top of the man's bald head. "Hmm, nice view from up here." He gave a super-fast stomp to knock the man out and pulled his sword on the other.

"Ah! What are you kid?" the dark-haired man asked nervously as he pulled out a knife.

"What you see is what you get, I'm just a guy who loves adventure. Dragon's Barrage!" he smacked the man a few dozen times with the dull edge of his sword until he was unconscious, leaving bruises but no cuts.

"Hope you're alright ma'am, I can't stand jerks like that, attacking a lady, how rude." He extended a hand to the woman.

Unfortunately for DJ, he happened to be standing next to his own wanted poster, in plain view for the woman. "EEK! It's Duncan MacLeod!" DJ sweatdropped at the navy using his full name for the poster again. "My name's DJ damn it." He watched the woman run away in terror. "You're Welcome! Geez, beat up a few dozen Navy guys trying to beat up children and everyone treats you like you're bad guy." He sighed and stole a dingy to go to the next town.

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A few weeks ago 

"Hmm, gotta get to the Grand Line somehow, but how? My dingy is too small" DJ ran through the town so people only felt a soft wind but couldn't see much of him. He stopped when he saw man shouting at his crewmates.

"Hurry up with that!" the man shouted. "We're heading for Reverse Mountain and then Whiskey Peak! So get that cargo on board now!"

"Yes sir, Dimitri sir." The man replied meekly.

"Hmm, looks like someone up there likes me." He grinned as he quickly ran to into the cargo hold of the ship. "Next stop, Grand Line."

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**A few days ago**

"GET BACK HERE PUNK!" the man called Dimitri shouted as he chased after him.

"Hmm, last time I fall asleep on a hostile ship. You'll have to be a lot faster than that old timer!" he grinned and slowed himself to taunt the man.

"AH! You stowaway brat!" Dimitri fell back and out of sight.

DJ smirked as he walked slower now. He came to a full stop as he saw a woman with pink hair. "Hello there ma'am." He grinned as he watched her. "Say, could you give me a hand? I got this crazy guy chasing after me." He pointed backwards.

"You don't say?" the woman loaded her shotgun.

"Yeah, dang that's a nice gun, don't want to kill the guy though." He grinned and looked back to the direction where he had lost Dimitri.

"I should say not, he might have a bounty on his head." The pink-haired woman smirked and slammed the gun handle down on his head while his back was turned and he blacked out.

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**That night**

DJ groaned as he felt the bump on his head. "Damn, I'm way to trusting when it comes to women, what was I supposed to do though? I can't hit a girl." He said to himself. As he listened closely and heard the sounds of a loud party very far away.

He smirked as he watched a greasy-haired man enter the room with a tray of food. "Dinnertime punk." the man chuckled and opened the cage just enough to slide the tray through.

"Bingo…." DJ grinned.

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**Hope this is sufficient, sorry it's so long but I had a lot of backstory. Please tell me what you think and don't forget to check out Kilnorc's One Piece writings! **


	2. Dreams and Reflections

**This was a result of boredom and a feeling that I had to be more in depth with DJ's past. If you review you… get a cookie! If you don't review you… Get a poison cookie! I do not own One Piece or any of it's copyrighted stuff.**

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DJ looked out the porthole of Dimitri's storage room, he saw the salty waves crashing upon the ship and the other quiet sounds of the sea. 

_Pirates sail the ocean to find laughter, and remember why they cry._

He recalled the legend he once heard in the pub back in his hometown. He rested his head against some boxes and looked up to the roof, through there was the deck of the ship, if the man named Dimitri or his crew caught him here, he would be in a lot of trouble.

"Aren't we in the Grand Line yet?" he sighed and looked out the window again. He closed his eyes and let sleep take him, his busy memories of his troubled past haunting his dreams as always. This time it was of the eventful time over two years ago where he visited a special little village that held interest to him.

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DJ took another sip of his drink and leaned back in his chair as he listened to the patrons of the Dragon's Fang pub ramble on with their drunken bar stories. He tilted his hat forward to hide his face, he hadn't gotten infamous enough to have much of a bounty yet, but he had still done some things the navy didn't like and he wanted to avoid any nasty encounters.

He turned his head as a small child, couldn't be more than twelve years old, barged into the pub. "I NEED THE ROUGHEST, TOUGHEST, STRONGEST FIGHTER HERE!" the boy screamed. Everyone seemed to laugh him off but they quieted down when he said: "I'm willing to pay whatever you want!"

"What do ya want kiddo?" one of the patrons with a scar across his eye asked.

"My little sister's been kidnapped by King Apollo! I need someone to go rescue her!" he cried and screamed.

"No way boyo, no one goes against King Apollo, even Ryu Renduin went up to Apollo tower a few days ago and hasn't returned." The scarred man stared the boy down.

DJ had heard from a few of the citizens that Ryu Renduin was somewhat of a local hero, a town champion for the weak. DJ had set out to see if anyone needed his help here and had intended to challenge him upon his return to test his strength in a friendly bout.

Renduin was apparently very famous here, as well as for his mark of the dragon, his style In fighting was patterned after dragon based attacks. Even this Dragon's Fang pub they were all in was named after him and his heroic deeds.

King Apollo on the other hand, was hated and feared by his underlings, according to the rumors circulating through the pub, Apollo had been kidnapping young people for some unknown reason. No one argued with him because of his brutal enforcement policy as well as naval connections.

"A damsel in distress you say?" DJ stood up and chuckled, removing his hat and tossing it up and down in one hand as he walked over to the boy. "What do you want kid?" he asked the youngster as he kneeled down and tossed the hat aside.

"I-I just don't want my sister to die." The boy said through his sobs and tears.

"What's your sister's name?" he asked.

"What business is it of yours?" The scarred man asked. "Who the hell are you?"

"You can call me the Phantom." DJ smirked as he turned towards the man before turning back to the child. "Her name please?"

"Miyoko…"

"I see…." He looked down at the boy and his memories flashed before him, he saw himself crying over Sirena's lifeless body. Someone needed him. He wasn't going to let a big brother disappoint their little sister again. He felt his shoulder were he made the blood oath years before.

"I'll find your sister, and I'll bring her back, alive. And I'll do it for free." He smirked.

"Really!? Oh thank you Mr. Phantom!" the kid wiped away his tears and beamed.

DJ closed his eyes and faced towards the door. "Sirena… I guess I'll never stop carrying you around on my back, will I?" he chuckled softly. "Better hold on tight then." He dashed out the door using his speed-speed powers, leaving a small breeze and a trail of dust and debris behind him.

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To get to Apollo tower, one had to cross Heretic Lake, a fact that DJ was unfortunately unaware of until it was too late. He continued along his speed-speed path until he skidded straight into the lake. "AH! CAN'T SWIM! CAN'T SWIM!" he shouted before sinking below the lake's surface

He remained calm as he hit the bottom of the lake, sitting cross-legged and unable to move under the water. _Hmmm, let's see, can't swim because of the Devil Fruit, didn't see anyone around when I came in here, gonna break the promise to that kid and his little sister. It all seems so anticlimactic, always thought the end would be loud. Oh well, yay! I'm doomed! _He could feel his lungs burning for air but he could do nothing to get away. He looked upwards to the starry night, refracted through the shimmering waters as his vision blacked out.

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"Breathe, damn you!" DJ stirred and heard a man shout as he coughed up a good amount of water. "Don't die on me you fricken kid!"

DJ leaned over the side of the small boat he was in and coughed up more water. "T-Thanks," he coughed at the man who had saved his life.

"Oh thank heavens," the man smiled. DJ eyed his savior over, he looked to be in his early fifties, wearing a black vest and matching pants as well as a hat made of reeds similar to the one DJ had back at the pub.

"Who are you old timer?" he rubbed his aching head, drowning sure could take it out of a guy.

"My name is Tazuro, I'm the ferryperson for Heretic lake." The man smiled. "Not to mention the guy who just saved your life."

"Yeah, thanks for that." DJ grinned and then looked at the small boat they were in, it was barely big enough to fit the both of them, it was roughly the size of a gondola without the ornate detail. "You're the only ferryperson on this lake? How do you even do business with this small of a boat?" he asked. It was easy for him to miss such a small vessel on his way in, which left him surprised that someone would come to rescue him.

"I don't need a big boat, but I make enough. Because of King Apollo living in Apollo tower across the way, not many tourists want to go that way. I make money off of some of the troops coming to and from the tower, shipping supplies and whatnot, plus the occasional hotshot who wants to challenge Apollo. Just yesterday I had that nice Ryu fella take a trip across the lake and tip me nicely, hope he makes it back okay. Out of all of them, never had any of them run straight into the lake before, you sure are a strange one."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." DJ sighed and leaned back.

"How old are ya kid?" Tazuro eyed DJ over.

"I'm 17," the speedy swordsman looked back curiously. It had been two years since he had left his hometown and a few months since he had gotten his Devil Fruit powers, which he had yet to master.

"Seventeen and can't even swim yet," the old man sighed. "And you plan to take on Apollo tower all by yourself?"

"Hey! I could swim I just…. forgot." He sighed, realizing how stupid that sounded. "I ate a Devil Fruit and lost the ability to swim." He put his hands behind his head.

"Ah, I see… well, I kinda feel bad for leading you to your death but I guess it is my job as a ferryperson. My wife keeps telling me to stop being so sentimental about it and just focus on business. You planning on getting married kid?"

"I don't know," DJ rolled over onto his side and stared out onto the water.

"Well the, take my advice, don't, All marriage is a bunch of nagging, followed by more nagging, oh yeah, did I mention the nagging?" Tazuro laughed.

DJ sighed and pulled out his flute, he had been versed in many other instruments and writing techniques, but the flute was the only one that seemed compact enough to carry with him. He began playing a sad, mournful song. As a musician and a poet, it was his job to find beauty in the world when everyone else saw none. It certainly made this an interesting time to be alive.

He stopped playing the song and set the flute down. He like playing music and writing poetry because it seemed to calm him, but nothing could ease his nerves about the battle about to take place.

"Why do you wanna take on Apollo anyways?" the old timer asked randomly.

"Have to help some kid I don't know rescue his sister, who I really don't know, no good reason I suppose." He sat up and exhaled. "It's just in my nature to help people, it's my purpose."

"Why? Chivalry's dead ya know." The old man pointed out and kept rowing the boat softly.

"Naw man, chivalry ain't dead, it's just taking an extended vacation." He laughed.

"But why act that way? A lot of women and children aren't weak anymore, empowerment and such, take my wife, please. Anyway, my wife can overpower me any day."

"Yeah, well that's the reason why I do it, not because I think they're weak, because I feel women are deserving of respect and adoration"

"Yeah, I used to think like you too when I was your age. I used to lie awake and dream of the girl I'd want to marry. Don't get me wrong, I love my wife dearly despite my jokes, but I miss those young, blissful days."

"I do that too," he sighed. He wasn't sure why he was opening up to this complete stranger so quickly. It was probably because it had been so long since someone wanted to know about him, he had been on his own for so long and no one cared about him, people needed him but no one wanted him after his help was over with.

"Really? Alright, just for kicks, we still got a little bit to go till we hit Apollo tower, let me hear about this dream girl." The old man laughed.

He sighed again, he didn't really feel like telling him but he couldn't very well deny a request to the man who had just saved his life. "Well, she has a will of fire, doesn't let anyone step on her. Isn't afraid to get scared. But isn't afraid to fight back when she's scared either. She should also have some spirit of innocence about her. In this day and age, such childishness is rare and should be treasured. She should be independent, need me but not know she needs me." He sighed, completing his long list.

"Well, good luck with that, chances of finding someone like that are slim to none though." Tazuro laughed again, he was getting tired of that laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, you asked, so I'm just telling ya."

"There it is." The old man pointed to a large stone tower, it was very tall and looked like it could be twice the size of any navy outpost he had seen thus far.

"Apollo Tower…." They both repeated in unison.

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DJ yawned and smacked his lips as he was awoken from his reflective dream and found himself back on Dimitri's ship, the least comfortable part of this was the spear being pointed in his face, at the other end was a man with a tattoo on his face.

"Good Morning…. stowaway."


	3. Apollo Tower

**I don't own One Piece or any of that cool, shiny, copyrighted stuff.**

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"EEP!" DJ squealed as he had the spear pointed in his face.

Dimitri smirked. "Please run, make this fun for me, I haven't had fun since my last toy ran away. And I've been a little tense." He laughed evilly.

"Lemme guess, your ugly face sent it packing?" DJ narrowly dodged the spear thrust that was aimed at him for that remark and stuck the spear into the box behind him and threw another at Dimitri and his crewmates before running out of the storage, leaving a small breeze behind him.

"Quick! Set sail again before he can escape!" Dimitri freed his spear and looked for the boy, only to see he was already gone. "Damn, that punk's fast."

DJ jumped off the side of the ship and ran away as fast as he could, closely followed by Dimitri, but the distance was rapidly growing.

"So this is Whiskey Peak, huh? Little too much Peak, not enough Whiskey." he laughed.

"GET BACK HERE YOU STOWAWAY PUNK!" Dimitri shouted.

"Oh, that's right, I'm being chased." DJ chuckled and ran off in the opposite direction.

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Later that night, after Dimitri's crewmate Rose had caught him with her feminine wit, DJ sat in the cage in the lower levels of the deck. He began to run in super-fast circles around the perimeter. "Lemme out! Lemme out! Lemme out! Lemme out! Lemme out! Lemme out! Lemme out!" he screamed and continued running, leaving scrorch marks on the floor. He tried running up the wall, but hit his head on the ceiling and added another bump to the one Rose had already given him.

"Calm down, punk." Dimitri scoffed as he watched the caged prisoner. "We don't plan on killing you just yet, we're going to use you as collateral to get what we want." The tattooed man smirked. "With any luck we can get back my pet." He chuckled as he revealed a leash in one hand with a collar as if for a domestic animal, but large enough to fit a human. As the light hit the metal plate on the collar the letters _D-U-S-T-Y _light up. "Get some sleep or something, wouldn't want you to die before we can complete our deal with this island's people." He laughed and pulled on another leash in his other hand, this one was attached to a dark cat-like figure in the shadows. Dimitri's laughter echoed throughout the prisoner's chamber before he returned to the deck above.

DJ sighed, "Well, nothing I can do about it now, hope that freak gets what's coming to him though, how disgusting can you get?" he leaned his head on the back of the cage and let his memory filled dreams take him once again.

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"So that's Apollo tower, huh?" DJ looked up at the large tower as he and Tazuro disembarked from the small boat. "Awful big don't ya think?"

"Yeah, think he's overcompensating for something?" The old man gave a wheezy laugh.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind, this is as far as I can take you kid, the base of the tower is just over that hill, good luck." The man pushed his boat off and started rowing again. "You're going to need it!" he shouted back at the shoreline.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence…" DJ grumbled and took of towards the base of the tower.

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As he approached, he looked around the tower's base. _Looks as if an animal's been through here. _"….Or a Dragon…" he said out loud.

Blood was spattered everywhere, Apollo's soliders were in ruins, and many were wounded, writhing in pain on the ground. Many more were lying motionless, DJ them presumed dead.

"Gonna be a short and boring trip if Ryu's already killed them all." DJ sighed. He noticed a band of about twenty or so guards exiting the tower. "Cool, there are some still alive," he whispered. "Oy! Hold the door will ya?" he waved over to them and grinned goofily.

"Hey! It's another punk! Get him!" One of the guards shouted as all of them rushed the intruder.

DJ easily dodged their swords and bullets without even trying. "Come on guys, don't make this hard on yourselves, I don't want to fight any more than is necessary. I want the least amount of deaths possible."

"Oh, you're going to be the only one…." The guard was cut off as a large slash across his chest appeared, spurting blood on a few of the guards closest to him.

"See?" DJ shrugged as the other guards whimpered and ran away.

"First the Dragon and now this?! We don't get paid enough for this crap!" one of the cowardly henchmen yelled.

"Hmm, so he is here." DJ smirked and knelt down to the injured guard, he was alive but would be walking funny for a few weeks. "Some friends they are." He nodded to the direction where the other guards had fled. "What do you say you show me the way inside and past security and I'll show you the way to the nearest medical tent before you bleed to death?" He grinned broadly as the guard sighed in submission.

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After keeping his promise to the injured guard, DJ entered the tower and ran up the many flights of stairs and came to the second to last floor that required a key. "Damn that lying guard, oh well, when you can't find a door, make your own!" he smirked and pulled out his sword, slashing the door apart in a few swift movements before sheathing it.

He was shocked as the door fell over opening into a large arena sized room. Blood was spattered everywhere, the broken weapons of opponents lay scattered across the ground. The most surprising object of all was the bloody heap, barely moving in the center of the room. DJ ran over to this crushed figure and immediately recognized who it was. Although the large dragon symbol on his shirt sure gave a big hint. "Ryu Renduin!" He looked over the large man carrying a single sword that had been broken in half. He had black hair and appeared to be in his twenties, at least for now. Assuming he lived much longer, his wounds looked severe and his blood was pouring out over the floor.

The dark-haired man turned on his back to face upwards at DJ, coughing up some blood. "They send a kid after me? How pathetic…"

Laughter echoed from a large shadowy figure from across the room. "Fresh blood, good, my swords are getting thirsty."

"Who the hell are you!?" DJ commanded of the stranger.

"I am Zabi-maru, I'd ask you your name, but you won't be alive much longer for it to matter." The man stepped out of the shadows to reveal his blood red hair, covered in a black robe, spattered with bloodstains from his opponents. He held three swords, one in each hand, and one in his mouth.

"A swordsman? Why would someone like you be working for Apollo?" DJ questioned.

"B-Be careful kid, he's not human, he's some kind of m-monster." Ryu coughed up more blood and fell limp and became pale. DJ felt his face and could already feel the icy touch of death jumping on the new corpse. The boy felt warm, salty tears leak from his eyes as he listened to the monster explain himself.

"I seek blood, it's my reason for existing, I test my strength against others and break their weapons when they are defeated. My style causes a slow and painful death that can take hours. Apollo allows me to kill as much as I please, one day soon, after he has gotten all that he wants from that town, he has promised to set me free on that town across the lake. He will let me kill all the men in that village, provided I leave the women and children alone."

"Hmm, a chivalrous bad guy, who knew." DJ wiped his tears and stood up, trying to mask his pain at the hero's death with humor while unsheathing his sword.

"Not at all, he needs them." The blood-spattered criminal smirked evilly.

"For what?"

"To find out, you'll have to get passed me, no one ever gets passed me. You shall be perfect practice for the one who's blood will satisfy this hunger, the reason I practice Santoryu."

"Bless you," DJ smirked, playing dumb.

"It means three sword style you dumbass. I will defeat the man Roronoa Zolo with his own sword art, break his legendary weapons and take his blood."

"Zolo? The pirate hunter Zolo? Wow, and people say I shoot for the stars…"

"But enough talk, my swords hunger for your blood!" Zabi-maru rushed the teenage intruder.

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**Hope it was good, a little more action this chapter and even more next chapter. **

**DJM: Man, this is taking too long, I wish we were at the top already! What's the use in having Speed-speed powers if everything goes so slow?**

**DJP: We'll get there when we get there! Don't make me turn this fic around and go straight home! Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed, till next time!**


	4. Dragon's Barrage Unleashed!

**I don't own One Piece or any of that stuff that isn't owned by me.**

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**Part 3: A Heartbreak's power! Dragon's Barrage Unleashed!**

DJ grimaced as his sword clashed with Zabi-maru's. He glanced over to Ryu's lifeless body before turning to face his opponent. "He was right, you aren't human, you're a monster. When I look into the eyes of those people whom I am meant to help, I see love, compassion, When I look into your eyes, I see nothing, nothing but hate and contempt."

The monster smirked as he pushed DJ backwards. The speedy boy slid back a few feet before skidding to a stop. "A sword is a weapon of destruction, these swords grant me power, and in exchange they ask for the blood of my opponents. That is the true purpose of a sword, to destroy and to attain power."

"You're wrong! Speed-speed… DASH!" DJ ran at super speed at the so called man's swords. It was Zabi-maru's turn to be pushed back now. "A sword is an instrument of protection, it can only become truly strong when someone cares about another person and is willing to risk his or her life for them!" he snarled

"Believe whatever you want! If you have a big heart, it makes it that much easier to strike a fatal blow!" he swung his sword at the boy, only to see that he had dissapeared.

"I'm here…" DJ smirked as he appeared behind Zabi-maru.

"You're fast kid, but nowhere near my strength!" He slashed at the teen with all three of his blades, only to have it fail again.

"Strength doesn't mean a thing if you can't land a single hit." DJ sighed as he appeared a few yards away from his previous position. "Speed-Speed Hurricane!" the boy took his sword in both hands and spun it around at super-speed to create high winds in Zabi-maru's direction.

The monster was put on guard by the gale force winds. "Bull charge!" he put two of his swords by his head to resemble a bull and charge through the winds. "Try and stop this you punk!"

DJ stopped spinning his sword, but it was too late, one of the 'horns' made contact with his gut. "Okay… not one of my better ideas." He winced and held his new wound and backed up slightly.

Zabi-maru laughed maniacally. "That's it, bleed, let my swords feed off of your blood!" he gave an inhuman grin.

"Speed-speed Tornado!" DJ ran in circles to disguise his movements, creating more strong winds. He ran in and slashed at his opponent, only to find it was blocked with more speed than the man appeared to have before.

"Too slow…"

"TOO SLOW!? Too slow!? Slow!? I'M SLOW!?" DJ shouted at his opponent and pushed harder on the three blades.

"It's no use kid, no matter how you manipulate the winds now, now that you have a wound I can track you by smelling your blood!" Zabi-maru grinned.

"Aw crap." DJ backed up and resized his opponent.

"Try this! Ketsueki Giri! (Blood Cleave)" DJ blocked the strong slash from all three swords but the force of the attack sent him flying back into the stone wall, making a large dent.

"Ow… note to self, rocks hurt." He groaned and watched as Zabi-maru ran towards him again, blades gleaming with blood. "AH! And so do people!" he barely dodged the attack and ran to his right along the wall. "I'm in trouble if I meet some rock-person combination." He giggled at the absurd idea as he ran.

He jumped up and tried an aerial attack, only to be blocked by the great defense of all three blades. "Rough Divide!" He placed his sword down by his waist and swung upwards as hard as he could, knocking his monstrous opponent off guard temporarily. On an attempt to move in on this attack, DJ was blocked by the blade kept in Zabi-maru's mouth.

"Why do you seek revenge for that man? You don't even know him." The monster pointed to Ryu's dead body.

"Revenge only leads to death and destruction, however I cannot allow you to continue to kill innocent people. I will stop you if I must, even if it means killing you!"

DJ exhaled and flipped backwards and crouched into a thinking position. _This isn't working, his defense is too strong and I'm running out of energy fast. I need something that can break through his defenses quickly and overpower him. What if I knock his swords away with brute strength and only cut when I need to? Now all I need is a name. _He smirked and looked over to Ryu and the bloodstained dragon emblem on his chest. "Got it…" he began to run at his opponent at top speed again.

"Hah, think you can take me head on, you punk? Ketsueki Giri!" he swung all of his blades outwards.

"Take this! Ryu Rendan: Dragon's Barrage!" DJ swung the flat of his blade multiple times to deflect the three swords, while rotating it to move in for a cutting attack.

As the two swordsmen passed each other, they stood and awaited the other one to fall. DJ was the first to react, a small trickle of blood appeared on his cheek as well as shallow cuts across his left shoulder and chest. His old and tired blade crumbled under the weight of the enraged attack. "Darn, I liked that sword too…" he wheezed.

"Hehehe… looks like you've…." Zabi-maru was cut off as all three of his blades broke in half and his hands erupted in blood. "AAAHH! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO YOU LITTLE PUNK!?"

"I decided to spare your wretched life, be grateful. I cut specific tendons in your hands, you'll survive, but you'll never be able to hold a sword with those hands again. Never be able to carve people up for pleasure." DJ closed his eyes and said calmly as he began to walk to the door leading to the final floor, and Apollo.

"How did you break my blades!?" The monster stood outraged and looked at his broken and bloody hands.

"It was easy, your swords were rusted with blood, like I said, a sword can only be truly strong when it is used to protect someone you care about." DJ turned around and the broken monster's eyes widened as he looked upon the victor.

"Then why did your sword break too?"

DJ shrugged. "I don't know, over-use? Waterlogged maybe? I did go for a swim in your lovely lake."

The monster merely let out a low growl and stood up. "It can't be… beaten by a punk kid?"

"Thank you Ryu… you were more help than you know… Dragon's Barrage… I kinda like the sound of that…" he turned back around and began walking towards the door again.

"Who the hell are you?"

"You can call me DJ, you can call me the Phantom hell, you can call me that punk kid. Whatever you do, remember the pain." He opened his eyes and reached for the door handle.

"WHY YOU!" Zabi-maru charged the boy, ready to throttle DJ with his bare hands.

"Speed-speed Roundhouse!" DJ spun around and landed a super fast roundhouse kick to the formerly fearsome warrior's jaw, skidding him into the wall and knocking him out. "Oops, guess I broke your jaw too, never be able to hold a sword there again either." He shrugged and opened the door. "By the way, the real Roronoa Zolo would have cut you down to size in a second."

He began walking up the final flight of stairs and into Apollo's master chamber. "The man standing in front of him, whom he assumed to be Apollo, was a gray-haired old many who appeared to be his early sixties. "I see… no one has ever gotten past Zabi-maru since I hired him."

"Give Miyoko back to her big brother and let whatever other captives you have here go and I may let you live for what you've done." DJ snarled, quickly growing tired of these games.

"I cannot do that, I need those women and children." Apollo snarled.

"Why?" DJ stood confused, having heard the same thing from Zabi-maru.

"No matter how powerful and influential a person is, we are all still mortal. Once we die, there may be things that keep our memories alive for a short time, monuments, records, memories of people who knew us, but as all memories do, they fade, buildings crumble, and we are left forgotten. This issue has become increasingly obvious as my age increases. I seek immortal life, I have discovered a potion that can utilize the blood of those who give life and those still new in life to keep me alive forever! I will never fade from this earth!"

"How disgusting, sacrificing the lives of women and children in order to sustain your own!? You're not even sure if this potion works! Tell me, is it a requirement that you have to be clinically insane to work here or is that just a bonus?"

"Call me what you wish, I shall call you dead soon, Mr. Phantom." Apollo took off his black cape and shirt to reveal a surprisingly muscled torso. "I am a master in many forms of martial arts, I bet after battling Zabi-maru you can barely stand!"

"Actually, no he was kinda weak for my liking." DJ reached behind him for his sword but for got he had broken it in the last fight. "Oh yeah, guess I'm gonna have to do this hand to hand."

"So cute, a kid pretending to be a hero, this is no game. You will die here, Mr. Hero!" Apollo charged him with swinging fists.

DJ braced himself, "Aww, man, I'm really getting tired of this. Why couldn't you be one of those scrawny accountant-type bad guys?"

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**Looks like trouble! With any luck, the next chapter will be the last one.**

**  
DJM: Finally!**

**Anways, check back here for the exciting conclusion! And don't forget to review!**


	5. Epilogue

I do not own One Piece or any of that cool copyright stuff… oooooh…. Shiny –tries to touch copyrighted stuff and is slapped with a lawsuit- Oh well, this is the last chapter, enjoy!

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Chapter 4: Epilogue

DJ caught Apollo's fist under his arm. The king let out a frustrated growl and punched DJ in the shoulder that had already been injured in the battle with Zabi-maru. The speedy teen winced and made a small scream. "Are my injuries enough of a handicap for you? Or would you like me to put an arm behind my back too?" he grimaced.

Apollo yelled and threw DJ off to the side. The boy could feel his wounds begin to bleed again. "As if I need them to defeat you. I am a master of Hung Gar, I have studied Tai Chi, Ba Gua, Northern Shoaling style, Seven Star Praying Mantis style and many others… You cannot wi-" The king was cut of by a fast kick to the face from his opponent.

"That's called Speedy style, learn it!" DJ smirked and watched the king stand up again. "It doesn't matter what you've studied if you can't use it properly. Discarding other's lives, lives that should be treated with extra respect to prolong your own on a whim. You do whatever you can to win a fight, even hit in an injured opponent's weak spot you have no honor and therefore you cannot truly win." The teen got back into a fighting stance.

"Winning is all that matters in a fight!" the king rushed the boy and aimed for the bloody wounds again.

DJ easily dodged and closed his eyes. "How sad and confused this world is. Since I know where you are aiming for, I can easily anticipate and avoid your attacks." DJ jumped over Apollo and landed off to one side of the king.

Apollo smirked. "You should watch where you're going, punk."

DJ turned around and realized his back was against the wall of the chamber. "Kuso…" he whispered.

"Too late! Hammer Fist!" The king rammed his fist straight for where DJ was and was shocked when it went straight through the boy and into the wall. "What the hell!? An afterimage?"

"And that's why they call me the Phantom!" DJ appeared a few yards away from the king. Apollo tried to pull his hand out of the wall but it appeared to be stuck from the force of the punch. "You should be more careful before throwing those techniques around, they could come back to bite you, fool!" he crouched down and prepared for an attack. "Speed-Speed Dash!" he ran at the king and punched him hard in the face, dislodging him from the wall.

Apollo stood up and wiped some blood from his mouth. "I will do what I must… to survive."

"Every life you take is like a noose around your neck! You will soon die because of your own sins!" DJ pointed to the corrupt leader.

The king turned around to the back wall of his chamber. Hung on the wall was a decorative dadao (a really big knife) the king picked it up and pointed it at the teen. "This battle shall soon be over!"

DJ sighed. "I fear it will be, and one of us won't survive." He prepared himself for an attack.

"Damn straight you punk kid!" he rushed the boy and swung the dadao

"Speed-Speed Roundhouse!" DJ kicked the king only to be blocked by the flat of the large blade.

"I will live!" Apollo screamed and rammed the knife into his already damaged shoulder, deepening the wound.

DJ let out a piercing scream, "You had your chance, I've given you a chance to give up, it's time to end this." He winced.

"As if you could!" the king deepened the cut and smirked.

"Enough! Your reign is over! Speed-Speed Mach 4 kick!" DJ kicked Apollo hard in the stomach, dislodging the dadao from his shoulder and sending the king and his weapon flying. DJ turned his head as he knew where the large knife would land, having plotted how this all would turn out.

"But… why?" the king's eyes widened as he was impaled by his own weapon. A piercing scream was let loose that would haunt DJ for many years.

"I'm sorry… there was no other way…" DJ nodded to the dead king. "I hope in the next life you can find peace." He kneeled down and took the keys to the cells on the lower levels where Miyoko was being held prisoner.

He stood by the door with his eyes closed. "Ironic… the very desire to extend his life was the thing that hastened his death. Anticlimactic even, he wasn't killed by some hero from the town he oppressed, but by a stranger he had never known." He opened the door and walked through, back to the room where Ryu's body and the unconscious Zabi-maru were. He picked up Ryu's dead body. "The least I can do is bring you back to the town that loves you. Everyone deserves to be around loved ones when they die, I hope that I can achieve the same end." DJ began to walk down to the lower levels where the prisons were.

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DJ exited Apollo Tower with Miyoko on his back and Ryu in his arms. "Who are you?" the innocent child asked.

"Call me Phantom," he sighed and began waling back to heretic lake.

"Mr. Phantom? … Thank you." The child hugged him. "And be sure to tell Mr. Ryu I said thank you when he wakes up." DJ couldn't help but begin to cry upon hearing those words.

As he got close enough to the lake he saw an empty boat with a small note inside from Tazuro. _I knew you'd make it kid. _

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DJ smiled as he approached the town, he nudged Miyoko who had fallen asleep on his back. "You're almost home kid."

There was a surprising sight on the edge of town however, quite a few villagers were lined up along the border with swords and guns pointed at DJ. "Get your filthy hands off of our hero and the kid." A villager snarled.

Miyoko's brother stood there shocked at this entire scene. DJ calmly set Ryu down and lifted Miyoko off of his back and nudged her towards the people. "What are you doing? He helped us!" the little boy shouted.

"Shut up kid, you don't know what you're talking about." A townsperson with a gun held the boy back as Miyoko ran to his side. "This kid is a pirate! He's going to attract other pirates and bring military forces here! Look what he's already done at Apollo tower!"

"I was only trying to help..." DJ closed his eyes and began to walk around the defensive line of village people.

"If you wanna help, do us a favor and drop dead! You freak!" the man fired his gun, which was dodged by a super-fast step sideways without DJ even raising his head or opening his eyes.

The speedy teen disappeared and reappeared a few moments later with a katana and a matching sheathe, looking at a very surprised man who was holding the weapon just a moment before. "I'm borrowing this." He said calmly and firmly, heading back for the docks before leaving. The last sounds he heard of that town were the villagers shouting for him to leave and or die and the protests of the children he had helped.

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A few days later DJ held a newspaper in his hand, having drifted to the next town over and hearing the full story as the navy told it and as the villagers of that town understood it from the periodical.

_A crazed youth with purposes unknown, stormed Apollo Tower late last night, murdering many soliders in cold blood, including beloved King Apollo and town hero Ryu Renduin. Witnesses described the teen as a brown-haired male. Further records indicate that this boy is known as Duncan Jeffery MacLeod from the island of Kaibyaku. Navy officials have reason to suspect he is in league with the pirate captain Red-Haired Shanks as a simple search on the island was met with resistance led by this boy which instigated forced warfare by the search party. Naval officers generously spared his life in an attempt to keep casualties to a minimum, apparently gratitude towards these men is not the boy's primary objective. MacLeod is considered armed and dangerous, report any sightings of the youth to your local Navy office and do not engage MacLeod unless absolutely necessary._

DJ smirked at the blatantly biased article, "They've been looking for an excuse to put a price on my head for over a year now." He had pissed off several naval officers and had no intention of standing by if he saw any injustice by officials. Attached to the article was a wanted poster, apparently the guard he had injured had managed to get a picture of him as he was exiting the tower. "Hmm, 30,000 beli, not too good for a pirate, although I'm sure they'll find a reason to raise it if I keep evading them and getting in their way." He chuckled.

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DJ stirred softly in his sleep and reawakened back on Dimitri's ship, still in his cell. They had indeed raised his bounty up to 70,000 beli because of his persistence in standing up to the corrupt Navy. He had stopped Navy officials from firing on civilians, murdering children, and raping women, killing the soliders if necessary.

"We live only twice it seems, once for ourselves, and once for out dreams." He sang out in his cell. He always seemed to sing to calm himself. "We laugh because we must not weep, smile because we must not scream. Fight for your dreams young children! Do not let anyone impede your pass. Stand up for what is right, and never lose sight of what's important." He sang the unrhyming, unfinished song.

"Damn, sounds better with my flute, or maybe I need to find a guitar." He chuckled and rolled over, drifting off to sleep one last time.

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His dream was darker and less lucid this time. He dreamed of the black-sailed navy ship that came to his island, of the navy soliders that killed his sister. He could see her screaming, dying, and he was unable to help her, he wasn't strong enough.

He tried to call out to her, but his voice fell silent, he could only watch in horror as his sister died.

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"SIRENA!" He shouted into the darkness. He woke up in a cold sweat. "She's not there…she'll never be there, because of me." He sighed and buried his face in his hands, sobbing.

"That doesn't matter anymore! There's nothing I can do about that now." He reminded himself. "The only thing I can do for Sirena now is fulfill my promise, help people who need me, help create a world where everyone strives for their dreams at all costs. I will be there whenever anyone needs me." He closed his eyes and remembered the legend he began reciting before.

_Pirates sail the ocean to seek laughter and remember why they cry. A long time ago, when the world was young, there was a group of people who went against what other people said and followed their own beliefs, good of bad, they were all counter-cultural nonetheless. These people were not accepted anywhere by normal people. They were embraced only by this world's worst pain, the pain of loneliness. These people cried salty tears, the group cried so much that most of the world was covered in their tears. These salty formations of tears were called oceans and the people who made them were named pirates. Not accepted by anyone else, the pirates banded together into crews and grouped into the one place that was theirs, the place they had created. Pirates sail the seas to remember their history, their reason for crying, and to seek laughter and companionship in the face of such pain. _

DJ knew this was all ridiculous of course, however there was an addendum to that legend. Those who ate the Devil Fruit were even rejected by the same ocean their tears had created. There was no one in the world who wanted him, not even the sea.

He had to get his mind off of this depressing subject. The pain in the back of his head helped him do that quite nicely.

DJ groaned as he felt the bump on his head. "Damn, I'm way to trusting when it comes to women, what was I supposed to do though? I can't hit a girl." He said to himself. As he listened closely and heard the sounds of a loud party very far away.

He smirked as he watched a greasy-haired man enter the room with a tray of food. "Dinnertime punk." the man chuckled and opened the cage just enough to slide the tray through.

"Bingo…." DJ grinned

As the man opened the cage, DJ quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him in, slamming his head against the bars of the cage. "By the way, that's gonna hurt when you wake up." He grinned at the unconscious man.

He ran through the ship and found his katana and flute. He stopped back at the storage chamber and looked around. "Damn, still no guitar," he sighed at the lack of his desired instrument. "Oh well, maybe there's one in town." He grinned. "First I gotta go give that furry Dimitri a piece of my mind."

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DJ stopped on the top of a large hill and sniffed. "Something foul is in the air." His eyes narrowed as he caught the distinct smell of alcohol and blood on the winds. He began to run towards the smell. "Someone who needs me perhaps?" he grinned broadly.

"_No matter what happens I will keep protecting what is precious to me. I will keep doing what I see is right, even if people hate me for it. I will search for somewhere I belong. I will keep helping those who need me and inspire others to chase after their dreams. This is my promise, this is my dream. This is who I am…A PIRATE!"_

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**Hope you all enjoyed it, if you liked this then you'll just have to keep up with Kilnorc's Crew of the Axe and Desert Storm fics for more One Piece excitement and fun!**


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